It raised eyebrows because Sergei Bobrovsky was one of the Blue Jackets’ few bright spots in Tuesday’s appalling shootout win in New Jersey, and also because noted Penguins-killer Keith Kinkaid wasn’t sent out to make his Columbus debut.

But by the end of the evening, the Blue Jackets’ only concern was on the other end of the ice.

Korpisalo made 28 saves and looked perfectly comfortable. It was the Blue Jackets’ offensive attack —reportedly enhanced by significant trade deadline acquisition — that has disappeared at the worst possible time.

The Penguins scored early in the first, late in the second and late in the third, an empty-netter by Sidney Crosby, that capped a 3-0 win. The Blue Jackets, meanwhile, have gone 124 minutes, 8...